The Unmissables – 2012’s top 12 under the radar singer songwriter albums

It’s actually been a pretty good year for one man and his guitar type troubadours with stunning albums from Richard Hawley, Paul Weller and the young pretender Jake Bugg. Monday also sees the release of Scott Walker’s Bish Bosch, which is likely to be as brilliant as it is, well, bonkers.

There are a few that you may have missed, especially from British songwriters, so here are twelve great albums ranging from the quirky 60s pop of Suzi Chunk through to the return of cult legends Bob Lind and Bill Fay.

The number one album is astonishing and IMO by some distance the album of the year.

Do you agree with the choices? What have we missed? Check out the Spotify playlist below. If you want the top den debut albums of 2012 go here and for a round up of the year’s best music polls check out this brilliant blog.

8 James Levy and the Blood Red Rose - Pray To Be Free

Ok so it isn’t quite a solo effort, Allison of The Pierces plays a very big role in this too, but this modern day update of Nancy and Lee has plenty of cracking tunes and some wonderfully quirky lyrics. Sneak Into My Room and Positively East Broadway are just two of many stand outs.